The Secret to Overcoming: A Thankful Heart

 

Dennis Edwards

I was doing a study on thankfulness and praise. I came across an interesting verse that suddenly opened up to me the dire importance of having a praiseful, a thankful heart. Apostle Paul had given us in his epistles two key principles for an overcoming and positive life. Number 1) “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus your Lord concerning you.” [1Thessalonians 5:18] Number 2) “We know all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose.” [Romans 8:28]

Those two verses had sustained me over my Christian life. The two principles Paul emphasizes are, thankfulness and a trusting faith that God is in control of our lives. If we continue to thank Him and walk in praise, in spite of the circumstances, God will work all the problems and difficulties in our lives for our good. He will deepen our Christian character and will make us a more useful instrument in His hands. If we can trust Him in those moments when it seems as if He has abandoned us, and not fulfilled His promises, He can transform those dark moments and bring joy from suffering, and beauty from ashes.

The oldest book in the Bible according to when it was written down is the book of Job. Job is thought to have been written around the time of Abraham about 2000 BC. The early chapters of Genesis precede those dates, but Moses edited and compiled Genesis in the form we have today around 1,500 BC. Though Job touches on many theological themes, the main substance of the story is trusting in God when it seems like God is not fulfilling His promises to us. Job is a man who fears and obeys God. When Job’s ten children were in their homes feasting, Job would rise up early and offer a burnt sacrifice to the Lord for each child, saying; “It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” [Job 1:5] The Bible says, “Thus did Job continually.” [Job 1:5]

As the story goes, Satan is allowed to test Job. God gives Satan permission to attack Job, his goods, his livelihood, his children, even his health, but without taking Job’s life. Job, the seemingly righteous man, loses all his substance, his flocks and cattle and camels, the lives of his ten children, and his own health. His wife blurts out in her despair, “Are you still trusting in Him? Curse God and die!” Job responds to her, “Do not speak like the unbeliever, those foolish women. Shall we not receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” [Job 2:10] “In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” [Job 2:10] Job had earlier said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” [Job 1:21] “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged (or accused) God foolishly.” [Job 1:22]

However, in his grief, Job is so discouraged he longs for death. “Oh, that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for. Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand and cut me off.” [Job 6:8-9] That is how we feel when a great calamity affronts our life. We long for the grave and the surcease of the pain and the suffering.

Moses was another prophet of God that asked God to end his life. We can read it in Numbers 11:10-15 NIV. “Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

In the case with Moses, the burden of work and responsibility seemed to be too much for him to bear, so Moses pleads with God to end his life. Instead of ending his life, God raises up 70 elders of Israel to help Moses carry the burden of the children of Israel. God responded to Moses’ cry and lifted the burden. We read from Apostle Paul’s epistle, “There is no temptation taken you that is not common to man. But God is faithful and will not tempt you above that you are able, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that ye may be able to bear it.” [1 Corinthians 10:13] God normally makes a way of escape so that we are able to bear whatever is troubling us.

Elijah was another prophet with amazing feats and accomplishments and yet, after his great victory against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmen we see him running for his life. From Mount Carmen about 200 km north of Jerusalem in the area of Nazareth, down to Beersheba about 50 km south of Jerusalem we see Elijah, exhausted, without strength asking God to take his life. 1 King 19:4. “But he went a days journey (from Beersheba) into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” God answered his prayers by giving him angel food to strengthen his body so that he may journey even further from his enemies to the Mount of Horeb where God gave him a holiday. After time alone with God on the mountain where God supplied all his needs and the birds fed him meat twice a day and there was a brook of clean mountain water, Elijah was strengthened and again ready to go about God’s work with a new a better understanding and faith.

Going back to Job, we read in Job 13:15, Job’s famous declaration of faith, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” In other words, even if God seems to be acting contrary to his own word and own nature, yet I will trust in him. Abraham had had the same test when he was asked to sacrifice his only son of promise, Isaac. The practice of child sacrifice was a heathen practice, a doctrine of devils, and yet God was demanding Abraham to follow that practice? When the time came for the sacrifice, Abraham obeyed and God said, “For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” [Genesis 22:12b]

Because of Abraham’s obedience to God’s voice, even when it seemed like God was acting contrary to his own nature, God blessed him and promised to bless the world through Abraham’s seed. Abraham became the father of faith. Both Job and Abraham had faith. The Scriptures tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” [Hebrews 11:6] What is faith but the quiet confidence that God is in control and will somehow work all things, all situations, together for our good, if we continue to trust Him. But if for some reason God doesn’t deliver us, or heal us, or save us, faith trusts and obeys no matter what happens.

On the cross of Calvary Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” [Matthew 27:46] Jesus may have been expressing the feeling that God had abandoned Him and not fulfilled His promises. If we have the feeling of abandonment like even some of God’s prophets have expressed, we would expect that Jesus experienced that abandonment. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” The sentence is written with a double negative. A double negative is a positive. Therefore, we can read the verse “For we have an high priest who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Jesus is touched with the feeling of our infirmities which should translate in us into the faith to do what is written in the next verse: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” [Hebrews 4:16]

Jesus was actually quoting from Psalm 22 where David 1,000 years earlier prophesized on the death of the Messiah. The rest of verses one and two conclude that feeling of abandonment. “Why art thou so far from helping me, and the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, but You hear not; and in the night season, and am not silent.” That’s how we feel in those moments in life where some tragedy has hit our life and it seems that God is silent. But the Psalmist doesn’t stay in that lamenting mood He rebukes his doubts and proclaims, “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel.” [Psalm 22:3] God lives within our praises, not our laments. We need to rise above our fears, doubts, and worries, and praise God in spite of our present uncertain circumstances.

Now let’s look at the verse that spoke to me so strongly when I was doing the study of praise and thankfulness. Romans 1:21, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful: but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

Think about the children of Israel with Moses. When they knew God, having seen His miracles upon the Egyptians, they nevertheless did not glorify him as God because they still had the gods of the Egyptians in their hearts. As a result of not really loving the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, body, and soul; they became unthankful. In other words, they began to entertain doubts which led to murmuring and unbelief. Because of their unbelief their thinking became vain and their hearts were darkened. The psalmist tells us, “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.” [Psalm 14:1] The state of being unthankful leads to the state of unbelief. By not being thankful we are saying God cannot work the tragedy we are facing in our life into something good. We are denying God. We are denying God’s goodness to transform the evil He allows into something good to those that trust in Him.

Being unthankful is akin to doubt and unbelief. It leads to the hardening of our hearts and to the corrupting of our thinking. If we don’t maintain faith in God as the core to our way of thinking our minds become corrupted with the principles and philosophies of the world and the light of faith in our heart is darkened and we fall into unbelief. Apostle Paul admonishes us, Colossians 2:6-8, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” Did you notice Paul reminds us we need to abound with thanksgiving or the enemy of our soul will enter with doubt and unbelief which will lead to the darkening of our heart and mind with the acceptance of ungodly worldly secular philosophies.

We read in Hebrews 3:12-14 the dire warning against falling into unbelief. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” How can we hold our faith steadfast until the end? By maintaining a thankful heart and mind. That must be why we have 150 psalms of praise right in the middle of our Bibles.

The Bible tells us, “Let there be no complaining in our streets,” [Psalm 144:14b], but “let us offer unto God the sacrifice of praise continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving praise to His name.” [Hebrews 13:15]

If you are going through a period of testing, if God doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers and you are wondering if He really loves you and cares for you; don’t faint in your mind. Lift up those hands that hang down and straighten up your posture and begin to praise the Lord once again. Praise is the voice of faith and will lift you up out of the pit of discouragement and or bitterness into which the enemy wants to keep you. As long as you have breath in you, Praise the Lord. Praise is the victory and can bring the greatest victories out of seeming defeats. When Jehosaphat and the children of Judah began to praise the Lord, God went ahead and defeated the three armies that were coming against them. 2 Chronicles 20.

“It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other besides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.”… “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. …And Jehoshaphat said, O Lord God of our fathers, art thou God in heaven? And do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the heathen? And in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? …saying, If, when evil comes upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help…O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes upon thee. And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. …Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel in the midst of the congregation and he said, “Thus says the Lord unto you, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. …Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.” …

And when Jehoshaphat had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord; for his mercy endures forever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against their enemies which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy the other. And when Judah came….there were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped… Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. So, the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.

Maybe you feel like there are three armies coming against you. Maybe you have financial problems, our health problems, or problems in your family, or all of the above and you can’t see victory in sight. “Lift up your hands in sanctuary and praise the Lord.” [Psalm 134:2] Start praising the Lord no matter how you feel. God will come. He will answer. He will save. Let us review Psalm 100 together. “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. …enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Use the weapon of praise and thankfulness and victory will come.